Georgetown, and pretty much everyone else, went into this year's MARC DII season blind.

The Hoyas, perhaps, were more blind than most. While, yes, everyone was coming out of a pandemic, Georgetown was also changing coaches and joining a new conference. Unsure of where they stood, they just kept playing. Bolstered by several players who draw their experience from accomplished high school program in the US and, for some, overseas, the Georgetown team had not only rugby experience, but rugby-culture experience.

Anf they rode that all the way to a Mid-Atlantic Conference D2 championship. 

"This is not some lucky run," said Georgetown lock and captain Ali Taha Brown. "We have great leadership on this team. The officer corps and the coaching staff and the players are all working together for a goal."

The key to that has been defense. And as any good team knows, good defense isn't about singular inspiration, but a team ethos. That's also what has led the Hoyas to overcome difficult moments in key games. This past weekend they beat Drexel in the MARCU semis and then Bucknell in the final. Both times they were behind at halftime.

"We came into the playoffs not sure what to expect," said Taha Brown. "It was a cool experience to play new teams, but with the new conference, we knew we hadn't seen these other teams and just weren't sure how it would go. We were down at the half in both games, but with the experience of out players and how we play together we were able to adapt and make tactical changes that allowed us to come back."

Taha Brown was a rock at second row and flanker Braeden Mahoney was a force on defense. Hooker JP Mancini was enormously effective this past weekend, while flyhalf Mark Kearney, only a sophomore but already the club VP and starting #10, controlled the backline nicely, allowing the likes of wing Sebastien Tabash to shine.

Tabash is a Gonzaga product, and in fact five on the roster played there. But they also have players who developed there rugby as BC High, Loyola Blakefield, Georgetown Prep, Fordham Prep, Fairfield Prep, St. Ignatius Chicago, Delbarton, St. Xavier Cincinnati,  Hong Kong International School, Eton, St. Michael's in BC, and, in the case of Kearney, SFGG.

"We have a lot of talent from the DMV that played on good rugby teams in the area," said Taha Brown, who is a Hong King IS product. "But we've got players from all over the place. We just have been able to come together, and we'll just take it game-by-game."